


Orchestral Maneuvers

by Topaz_Eyes



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: 3 Sentence Ficathon, Dancing, Episode Tag, F/M, Prompt Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-03
Updated: 2021-02-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:55:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29188155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Topaz_Eyes/pseuds/Topaz_Eyes
Summary: “It’s our song, sweetie.”
Relationships: River Song/Twelfth Doctor
Kudos: 7





	Orchestral Maneuvers

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Rthstewart’s [3 Sentence Ficathon](https://rthstewart.dreamwidth.org/166704.html) on Dreamwidth: _any, any, drop everything and slow dance with me! (this is an urgent situation)_ from Anonymous. Which kinda got away from me a little. The original is posted [here](https://rthstewart.dreamwidth.org/166704.html?thread=9175344#cmt9175344). Post episode tag for "The Husbands of River Song."

The Darillian mineral sunbursts the Doctor had ordered were starting to fade as he sat at their table waiting for River to arrive.

River seemed to be taking a very long time getting ready for their dinner date, he thought after half an hour had elapsed. Until he heard a commotion two tables away, and a loud “Excuse me.” Seconds later, she tapped him on the shoulder from behind.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding!” she announced far too brightly.

“I’ve been waiting--” the Doctor began, but River bent down and laid her finger against his lips to shush him.

“Come dance with me, my love,” she purred in his ear, her assessing gaze sweeping around the room. “I’ve requested our song.”

The Doctor gestured at the two round crystal goblets on the table whose sparks were dulling to embers. “Why don’t we enjoy the remainder of these sunbursts first.”

“Dance with me,” River repeated firmly, “I insist.”

The Doctor cocked an eyebrow. “Right this minute? What’s the rush?”

“It’s our song, sweetie,” she insisted through a tight smile, “to celebrate our anniversary. We can’t miss our special request now, can we?”

Before the Doctor could reply, she grabbed his hand, pulled him to standing, and dragged him onto the darkened dancefloor among the throng of couples gliding back and forth.

“Really, Doctor, you can be so thick sometimes,” River admonished him, and she laced her fingers at the nape of the Doctor’s neck. The Doctor obediently wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in; they began to sway to the hotel orchestra’s rendition of Moonlight Serenade.

A minute into the song, River’s cheek moved oddly against his shoulder as if she were probing a back molar. The next thing he knew, she drew him down and kissed him, insistently prying his lips open with her tongue.

“Mmmph?” Wide-eyed, the Doctor could only follow her lead, drop his resistance and allow her in. He arched her against him, moulding her body to his, his eyes fluttering closed as his tongue twined around hers.

He was starting to get caught up in the moment when she pushed a small capsule into his mouth, behind his lower left wisdom tooth. She then pulled back and smiled ruefully. “I’m sorry, but I really must be going,” she said, “something’s come up.”

The Doctor frowned at her, his stomach sinking as he realized what was happening. “What’s going on, River?” he asked with a resigned sigh. Never mind that they had just spent the last hour in Darillian time – two years – extricating themselves from their last caper, and he was starving.

River tilted her head in the direction of a very large and purple-faced gentleman who stood at the edge of the dance floor and gesticulated angrily around the room, obviously searching for someone. “I’ll explain later. He hasn’t seen me yet. In the meantime, be a dear and keep my former colleague occupied while I fetch a vortex manipulator and a Time Agent to deal with him. One’s stationed on the other side of the planet.”

The Doctor’s jaw dropped. “When did you work for--?”

“Whatever happens, do _not_ let him know you have a data crystal with proof of his unauthorized manipulation of history on Xalpax Seven. I need to borrow the TARDIS, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” She kissed his cheek and slipped through the crowd on the floor towards the back exit, leaving the Doctor to stare at her retreating back. Immediately his tongue swept to the back of his lower left gum where the crystal had lodged. Of course. She was an archaeologist…

“Right,” he said, and began to formulate yet another escape plan.


End file.
